Astonishing X-Men Vol 3 1
| StoryArc = Gifted (Story Arc) | StoryTitle1 = "Gifted" (Part 1) | Synopsis1 = Tildie Soames is having a nightmare about the onset of her mutant powers resulting in the death of her parents. Waking up screaming, Dr. Kavita Rao comforts her. Kitty Pryde arrives at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, her baggage denoting an indefinite return. Walking down the drive and through the foyer, she experiences flashbacks of her early years with the X-Men. Arriving in the Danger Room for the orientation presentation, Kitty finds she is late. Emma Frost introduces the faculty, lays down some ground rules and triggers a holographic simulation of a Sentinel attack. Commenting on the 'lesson', she states, "they will always hate us." In the headmaster's office, Cyclops is upset with Emma's simulation. Emma responds that 10% of the students were excited about combat, and she thought he should know. At dawn, Wolverine finds Scott and Emma together in bed and provokes Cyclops, who blasts him out to the front yard and they face off in front of the students. Later, the staff has a meeting in the Danger Room (sitting on holographic islands of Hawaii). Beast reprimands Logan and Scott for their behavior. Refusing to apologize, Scott realizes the absurdity, going on to say that the X-Men need to start presenting themselves more like a superhero team again, like the Avengers or the Fantastic Four. "Here come the tights," Logan retorts. Elsewhere, the acclaimed geneticist Kavita Rao gives a press conference about the release of the new drug Hope, claiming it can cure the X-Gene "disease". At the prestigious Chapman Building, Ord of the Breakworld and some hired mercenaries make hostages of the attendees of Walter Langford's Annual Fundraiser for the Preservation of Victorian Architecture.Not actually revealed until . Hearing about the situation on the news, the X-Men don their costumes and leave. | Appearing1 = Featured Characters: * ** ** ** ** ** Supporting Characters: * * Antagonists: * * * Squad of mercenaries (hired by Ord) Other Characters: * Mr. and Mrs. Soames * * * Xavier Institute students * * Attendees of Walter Langford's Annual Fundraiser for the Preservation of Victorian Architecture Races and Species: * * * Locations: *Illinois ** * ** ** *** **** ** *** Items: * * * Vehicles: * | Trivia = * The story arc that starts in this issue is one of the bases for "X-Men: The Last Stand". *This issue is reprinted in . * Upon her late arrival at the mass student orientation, Kitty Pryde remarks if she had "missed the Sorting Hat"—alluding to a similar scenario found in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter books. * The "Gifted" story arc was adapted in a motion comic mini-series comprised of six episodes called Astonishing X-Men: Gifted. The mini-series was created by Marvel Knights Animation and released on iTunes in October 27, 2009, and by Shout! Factory on DVD in September 28, 2010. | Recommended = * Although uncited, the flashbacks have when she arrives at Xavier Institute are from , and in order. | Links = }} References Category:Director's Cuts